The Taiwan Philharmonic, founded in 1986, is scarcely older than its Chinese counterpart, yet it seemed to have a much deeper connection with the ethos and traditions of Western classical music. I would attribute a lot of this to its excellent Viennese- and American-trained conductor, Shao-Chia Lü, whose physical motions were far more expressive and flowing than those of Yu, and whose ability to get a wealth of nuances and charged-up fervor from his players made a big difference. ..Here Lii got them to play above their heads in a stunning performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, creating suspense in even the most predictable spots with strategic pacing and shaping of climaxes, sharp rhythms, and all kinds of subtle internal details. That’s how you make the overplayed Fifth sound like the great symphony it is.

One does not normally attend an Otello production to hear the orchestra, but this one was different. In his mere 7 years at the helm, music director Shao-Chia Lü has brought the National Symphony Orchestra to world-class status. The sound alone is a marvel – beauteous, richly rounded, perfectly balanced, at times of staggering power yet never forced or brash, the latter a quality found only to the world’s very greatest orchestras….Lü is also a master at pacing. Climaxes were prepared so as to leave no doubt where the grand peaks lay….There was also poetry aplenty. Lü has mastered the secret of how to make his orchestra sound like a single, living organism that breathes as one.

Robert Markow, Der neue Merker 08+09/2016.

Bruckner Symphony No. 8 in Taipei, May 2015

Finally: a satisfying live performance of the Bruckner 8th from beginning to end. Finally!He ❲ Shao-Chia Lü❳ is a passionate conductor and an effective communicator…It was also obvious that Lü is a conductor with fire in his belly…Lü’s style is to maintain energy and tension. He pulled back the tempo a little to mark phrase ends, but never let the line go slack. Indeed, after the great brass outbursts, he typically began the softer sections that followed with quicker rather than slower tempos – just the opposite of the more usual loud goes fast/soft goes slow recipe that passes for interpretation these days.

…the Taiwan Philharmonic returned to Europe for performances in Paris, Milan, Udine, Geneva and Berlin…..in Geneva magic happened. Taiwan native Shao-Chia Lü, the orchestra’s music director since 2010, proved that hearing this warhorse (Beethoven, Symphony No. 7) even for the 1,000th time can still be an exhilarating ride when it is done with the rhythmic precision, carefully calibrated dynamic contrasts, and solid architectural vision he imposed…

The orchestra’s sound deserves special mention: full, rich, rounded, and well-balanced in the tradition of the best German orchestras. The Taiwan Philharmonic may well be the most European-sounding of the major Asian orchestras…

A felicitous performance of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 concluded the formal program. Again, conductor Lü consistently drew luscious sounds from all sections of the orchestra, each of which played with a single, unified voice. He brought a light, lyrical touch to the numerous melodies, and exhibited a sure hand in building up with sustained tension the climaxes to the first and fourth movements. The burnished sound from the brass (of the half dozen or so major orchestras in Berlin they would be second only to the brass section of the Berlin Philharmonic); the diaphanous dance rhythms from the strings; the flawless intonation from the woodwinds; and the tight, meticulous execution from the percussion proved beyond doubt that the Taiwan Philharmoni is a first class orchestra.

Earl Arthur Love, ConcertoNet.com

Die „Walküre“ in Taipei, Juli 2013

Musical direction was in the hands of the Taiwanese-born Shao-Chia Lü who has been the National Symphony Orchestra’s music director since August 2010. Lü has acquired something of a reputation as a Puccini specialist (he has conducted all this composer’s operas from Manon Lescaut onward on multiple occasions) but he is equally adept at the German repertory, including much Wagner, having spent considerable time in German houses over the past eigtheen years, particularly in Hannover and Hamburg. Lyricism is at the heart of Lü’s style, and he brought this quality to Die Walküre as well. The result was a fluid, flowing approach, not a ponderous or weighty one…..Strings soared gloriously, woodwinds sang with plangent sweetness, and the brass were suitably noble….the resulting balance between stage and pit was ideal; seldom have I understood so much of the libretto without resorting to surtitles….Lü has modeled the NSO into a world-class orchestra.